Today we got word that a "unique and upscale" 500,000 square foot shopping centre is planned for the site currently occupied by Toronto's Globe & Mail (newspaper) headquarters. The project would also include residential and office components, as well as a smaller hotel.

As we reported earlier, The Toronto Eaton Centre's non-anchor square footage is 582,000 square feet (excluding Sears, Canadian Tire and Best Buy).

Toronto's Globe & Mail will move into a newly-built building at the corner of Front Street West and Spadina Avenue. This will leave a large site to be redeveloped as described above.

We have been told that the developer will court a variety of retailers, both local and international. It will be targeted as being 'upscale', though we have been provided few details about possible retailers at this time.

We received this information from a broker involved in a deal where Riocan Trust and Allied Properties REIT are finalizing a deal to purchase the current Globe & Mail site, shown on the map above. Once finalized, a development proposal will be presented to Toronto City Hall.

This is the second recently-announced shopping centre for Downtown Toronto. Earlier we reported on the proposed Oxford Place near Toronto's CN Tower.